1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of pressurized fluids. More specifically, the invention relates to new and useful improvements in valves for actuating the flow of pressurized fluids and a device containing same.
2. Background Art
Assorted types of guns that project paintballs or other projectiles have been developed and used in many applications. Generally, these paintball type guns use valves that control the flow of pressurized fluid employed to propel paintballs. Such propellant fluids might be carbon dioxide, nitrogen, compressed air, or other high pressure gases. An example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,328, issued Aug., 11, 1998 to Aaron K. Alexander. U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,328 employs a valve for use with a paintball gun that includes a valve body with a flow path through it, a valve stem that passes through the body with one end of the valve stem itself acting as a striking surface, and a cup seal with radial guide legs that slidably contact the valve chamber bore of a paintball gun, the cupseal being attached to the other end of the valve stem. However, there are problems with the current valves, including the valve from U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,328.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention solve and overcome these problems by providing an aerodynamic seal that allows more fluid to flow between a valve chamber bore and the valve""s passageway. Additionally, the aerodynamic structure of the seal creates less turbulence, thereby increasing a scavenging effect and providing more fluid flow into the valve body. Moreover, when the seal mates with the seal seat on the valve body and the valve is shut, fluid pressure on the seal is reduced because of the aerodynamic shape of the seal.
Additional embodiments provide a rear spring assembly that includes a spring that is placed between a strikable portion and the valve body. The strikable portion couples to one end of a valve stem and the other end of the valve stem couples to the seal. By placing the spring on the rear spring assembly, the spring is not located in the valve chamber bore, thereby further increasing fluid flow and volume, and decreasing acoustic irregularities. Moreover, the strikable portion itself creates a constant travel stop for the seal. This provides a constant amount of fluid volume through the valve relevant to fluid pressure.
Additionally, the valve body preferably contains multiple exhaust ports, and these exhaust ports are preferably located in a circumferential recess in the valve body. This allows a larger volume of fluid to pass from the passageway of the valve body to an exhaust bore and provides less restrictive fluid flow. Moreover, providing multiple exhaust ports does not require the valve body to be fixed in a particular way in relationship to the exhaust bore.
In one of the most preferred embodiments, the combination of these features decrease the amount of force necessary to actuate the valve, allow the rear spring to be relatively weak, yet reduce fluid xe2x80x9cpopxe2x80x9d created by supersonic fluid as it flows past the valve, and allow the valve to remain fully functional over a wide variety of fluid pressures. Additional features and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention are discussed below.
The other of the most preferred embodiments again combines all of the foregoing features and provides all of the previous advantages, yet preferably provides a plurality of channeled apertures on the outside circumference of the valve body that preferably communicate with a circumferential recess on the valve body and a striker chamber bore. The preferred channeled apertures allow the dissipation of fluid pressure from a striker chamber bore forward into the recess in the valve body, thereby eliminating any cushion of fluid pressure that might stop the striker from sufficiently or effectively striking a strikable portion attached to the valve stem. In addition, the channeled apertures allow a striker chamber exhaust vent to be eliminated, thereby allowing recycling of fluid pressure and not a wasting of fluid pressure by dissipation out the striker chamber exhaust vent. Moreover, the channeled apertures allow the use of low fluid pressures to re-cock the striker because by allowing blow-back fluid to dissipate forward through the channels into the valve body, more fluid will be blown back through the channels when the valve is next open.